1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fishing rods and more particularly, to a fishing rod butt and reel seat assembly for use in receiving and supporting a fishing rod and fishing reel thereon that is specifically structured to minimize manufacturing costs and assembly time while providing at the same time, a substantially strong device able to withstand the large bending forces, loads, stresses and otherwise heavy duty use to which such devices are often subjected.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most conventional fishing rods used for deep sea sport fishing are made of three primary sections, namely, an elongate rod blank, a handle or butt, and a reel seat. Typically, the distal end of the elongate rod blank is intended to be fitted within the handle or butt. The reel seat is commonly secured directly to the butt rather than to the fishing rod itself. The end of the butt is frequently in the form of a gimbal having intersecting notches, and therefore, the distal end of the butt is specifically configured to be received within a socket permanently but movably mounted on a "fighting chair" on as boat or even on a "fighting belt" secured to a fisherman. In the sport of game fishing, strong forces are often encountered, which forces are transmitted through the rod to the butt assembly. Many fishing rods are not able to withstand the tremendous stress associated with deep sea fishing and have a tendency to break under the high load conditions inherent in the sport. Given the enormous amount of stress and "bending forces" placed on the butt assembly, it is imperative that its construction and design be adequate to withstand the aforementioned forces and to maintain a certain amount of structural integrity throughout its life.
Various fishing butt and reel seat assemblies have been designed in the past to overcome the tendency to break under the high load conditions present in the sport of game fishing. Many of the known devices are constructed from a plurality of intricately machined or interlocking parts in order to increase the structural strength and durability of the fishing butt assembly. A recurring problem however, is that the manufacturing process for such devices is labor intensive and costly. In an effort to reduce the increased costs associated with such multi-part butt assemblies, others have designed unitary or one piece fishing butt and reel seat assemblies. Known unitary designs, however, are viewed as having problems in terms of their structural integrity and ability to adequately withstand the heavy duty use to which they are exposed. Alternatively, the materials used to construct other known unitary fishing butt assemblies often hinder the performance of the fisherman or are simply unreliable. For instance, in order to provide a unitary fishing butt assembly which is sufficiently strong to meet the structural demands of the sport, some in the art have formed the entire fishing butt structure out of a sturdy, solid metallic material. This, however, results in the device being expensive in that costly metal finishing is required but also, results in the device being slippery, heavy, cumbersome and only expedient to the fatiguing of the fisherman. In addition, such devices are susceptible to rapid heating and becoming too hot to handle, particularly given that most deep sea fishing occurs in highly sunny conditions with no shade available. Consequently, many such devices utilize insulating materials such as foam, cork or wood to form a gripping surface for the user and to protect the user's hands from the heat conductive metals. A problem frequently encountered in such devices is that the metallic and insulating materials have different thermal expansion coefficients and therefore, expand and contract at different rates, which has resulted in the cracking and general deterioration of the insulating material.
It would, therefore, be highly advantageous to provide a unitary fishing butt and reel seat assembly which overcomes the afore-mentioned problems in the art. Specifically, it would be highly beneficial to provide a unitary fishing butt and reel seat assembly which minimizes the costs and assembly time associated with manufacturing such a device while at the same time, maintaining the structural integrity of the device necessary to withstand the large bending forces and loads which such devices are subjected to. Any such unitary fishing butt should be relatively light weight so as facilitate its maneuverability when used during fishing and delay the fatigue of the user. It would also be highly beneficial to provide a unitary fishing butt and reel seat assembly which offers an insulative material sleeve which can accommodate the different thermal expansion rates of the materials used in the device and further, which can be easily replaced, if desired.